In Spring 2017 the Maricopa Small Business Development Center (SBDC) launched a partnership with the City of Peoria to provide in-depth counseling and specialized training programs to Peoria businesses who want to grow and expand. As part of a well-established state (AZSBDC) and national network, the Maricopa SBDC has a plethora of resources available for business owners. The first goal of the partnership was to execute a needs assessment specific to Peoria businesses to determine what specialized programs and resources the SBDC could provide.
The results of the needs assessment showed two key priorities for Peoria growth stage businesses: advanced support with marketing and access to capital. In response, the Maricopa SBDC has held two summits to bring together local business owners with resources in an innovative format that allows business owners to walk away with the resources they need to grow.
The Maricopa SBDC held the most recent summit, Raising Capital – Funding Basics and Lender Insights, on February 22, 2018, at Huntington University in Peoria, AZ.
At this event, Peoria business owners received critical education on the fundamentals of lending and the SBA loan process from Craig Jordan with the Small Business Administration. Attendees also learned about the variety of funding available to small business owners (commercial banks, micro lenders, SBA Community Advantage Programs and CDFI’S), a REAL perspective of the 5 c’s of credit (capacity, collateral, capital, conditions and character) and how the SBA works with lenders to get more funding to small business owners.
Following Mr. Jordan, Kristin Slice, the SBDC Business Analyst and Peoria Partnership Coordinator, walked through the process that most business owners go through to access the money they need to grow their business. She shared best practices including working with the Maricopa SBDC to complete a lending package (business plan and financials) and help determine the RIGHT type of lending for their business. She walked through what to expect, the timeline, and common misconceptions that business owners struggle with.
View the full presentation here.
The most valuable portion of the summit followed the education portion of the summit (sorry Craig and Kristin!) — A panel of local lenders shared honest feedback and answered the questions of the business owners attending the Summit. The conversation was facilitated by the Maricopa SBDC Regional Director, Nancy Sanders. Panelists represented the variety of funding options and lending partners that the Small Business Development Center works with including:
Chris Flowers, Loan Officer, CDC Small Business Finance
Chris Dennis, Area Manager, Peoria Chase Business Banking
Alexi In-Albon, Business Development , BNC
Sebastian Porchini, Vice President – Phoenix Metro, FirstBank
Some of their feedback included working with a banker that fits their needs, being responsive during the process to ensure the lender has all of the documents and information they need, and of course, encouraged attendees to start by working with the Maricopa SBDC, so when they go through the lending process they are prepared!
Overall attendees walked away with a wealth of resources and information, but most importantly, a better understanding of how to set up their business and themselves to access the critical capital that all businesses need in order to grow.
The feedback forms received from those in attendance scored a near perfect 4.9 out of 5 with attendees finding this summit as extremely valuable!
Thank you to all the panelists, the City of Peoria, local partners and the attendees. The Maricopa SBDC looks forward to working with all of the attendees in our in-depth counseling, which is provided at no cost, and with all the Peoria businesses looking to grow and expand.
Whether it’s $100,000 of working capital to expand to a new market or $15,000,000 for a new building, the Maricopa SBDC is here to help. Last year, our team worked with business owners to provide feedback on business plans, financials and the right guidance needed to gain impact of over $42 million in capital.
If you are interested in how the Maricopa SBDC can support your business in accessing the right type of debt lending, loans or micro-lending, email our Peoria satellite coordinator, Kristin Slice.
